Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Energy’s(DOE) Office of Energy and Renewable Energy (EERE) hosted Sustainable Transportation Day in Washington, D.C. About lucky attendees got the opportunity to see and touch exhibits of a number of cutting-edge technologies.

The Obama administration has committed to reducing the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions by 26% to 28% by 2025, which has prompted the DOE to invest in research, development, demonstration and deployment of promising technologies that will help achieve this goal.

Here are some of the really interesting vehicles/technologies that were on display:

3D Printed Shelby Cobra

According to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the 3-D printed Shelby Cobra car is a “plug and play” laboratory on wheels that can test batteries, fuel cells, and other advanced vehicle technologies. The 3-D printing process that produced the car is part of the allure of this vehicle because it uses less than half of the energy of conventional manufacturing. The car is made of an advanced composite material that cuts the vehicle’s weight in half while not just maintaining, but actually improving, its safety.

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles

Two fuel cell electric vehicles were on display: the Hyundai Tucson and the Toyota Mirai. Research and development of both of these vehicles was made possible the DOE’s Fuel Cell Technologies Office. These vehicles are currently available for lease in the U.S. and will soon be available for sale.

Image credit: Matt Dozier, Energy Department

Image: Matt Dozier, Energy Department

Algae Surfboard

The Algae Surfboard is made from algal-oil based foam instead of polyurethane foam made from dirty fossil fuels. The surfboard was developed by researchers at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) California Center for Algae Biotechnology in collaboration with Solazyme.

About Tracey SmithTracey is an accountant and entrepreneur with a passion for nature. This passion is what spurred her interest in renewable energy, and the rest is history as they say. Tracey is a principal in Energy Think Group, the publisher of Solar Thermal Magazine and Tek-Think. She is also the principal at Women's Financial Help Desk. She spends her free time in the outdoors with her horses and dogs. She loves to travel.